Hendry’s little brother – 2006 HRW Zinfandel

“HRW” is a fairly new line of wines from Hendry that offers some value to their brand, priced at around half of what the big brother costs. The wines are blends of the leftover juice from their single block wines, that for whatever reason wasn’t “good enough”. The 2006 HRW Zinfandel ( $18 ) is a blend of juice from their Block 7&22 and the Block 28 Zinfandel. The wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and aged in French Oak for 12 months. Approximately ten percent of the oak was new with the remaining being one, two and three year old Zinfandel barrels.

My Tasting Notes –

Nose – prune, plum, blackberry, smoke

Taste – black cherry, raisin, plum and cocoa

Mouthfeel – medium to full body, dusty tannins and spicey

Finish – quite long with dusty dry tannins and dark fruit flavors

We drank this with some grilled food and redskin potato salad during this unseasonably warm weather Richmond was having this weekend. The pairing worked out well with the smoky notes really coming out with the smokiness of the grilled food. I really enjoy the Hendry “Zins” but have a hard time popping a $30-$40 bottle of wine on a daily basis or to have at a cookout. The HRW line gives you the quality you expect from Hendry with slightly less complexity, in a rocking Napa Zin.